“SERIOUS RISK”
The attack on Tuesday took place as tourists enjoyed tranquil mountain views at the popular site at Pahalgam, when gunmen burst out of forests and raked crowds with automatic weapons.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday vowed a swift response.
“Those responsible and behind such an act will very soon hear our response, loud and clear,” Singh said in a speech in New Delhi.
“We won’t just reach those people who carried out the attack. We will also reach out to those who planned this from behind the scenes on our land.”
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack in the Muslim-majority region where rebels have waged an insurgency since 1989 – seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan.
On Wednesday evening, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri read out a series of actions against Pakistan.
That includes the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 to share critical water from Himalayan tributaries “until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures (rejects) its support for cross-border terrorism”, Misri told reporters in New Delhi.
It also includes the shutting of the mainland border crossing and several diplomatic staff reductions, including withdrawing several Indian staff from Islamabad and ordering Pakistanis home.
Analyst Michael Kugelman said the attack posed a “very serious risk of a new crisis between India and Pakistan, and probably the most serious risk of a crisis since the brief military conflict that happened in 2019”.
